An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry [Hardcover]

Wes Davis (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2010

Never before has there been a single-volume anthology of modern Irish poetry so significant and groundbreaking as An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry. Collected here is a comprehensive representation of Irish poetic achievement in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from poets such as Austin Clarke and Samuel Beckett who were writing while Yeats and Joyce were still living; to those who came of age in the turbulent '60s as sectarian violence escalated, including Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley; to a new generation of Irish writers, represented by such diverse, interesting voices as David Wheatley (born 1970) and Sinéad Morrissey (born 1972).

Scholar and editor Wes Davis has chosen work by more than fifty leading modern and contemporary Irish poets. Each poet is represented by a generous number of poems (there are nearly 800 poems in the anthology). The editor's selection includes work by world-renowned poets, including a couple of Nobel Prize winners, as well as work by poets whose careers may be less well known to the general public; by poets writing in English; and by several working in the Irish language (Gaelic selections appear in translation). Accompanying the selections are a general introduction that provides a historical overview, informative short essays on each poet, and helpful notes—all prepared by the editor.

(20100901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Irish poets, learn your trade," enjoined Yeats. "Sing whatever is well made." They did, they do. Ireland's contemporary poets, wherever they now live, have made a new poetry as rich and strange, as varied and touching, as the language can be. Wes Davis's extraordinary anthology is itself an island--a place apart in the heart of things, and an unparalleled view onto writing that soars and crackles and thrills. I've already put it onto my short shelf of indispensable books!
--J. D. McClatchy (20100424)

A much-needed volume, and one that will quickly become indispensable to readers of poetry as well as those interested in all things Irish. This is a publishing event...a great achievement.
--David Mikics, University of Houston (20100606)

It is good to see that Irish poetry thrives on the examples of Kinsella, Montague, Longley, Heaney, Mahon, and their colleagues. Younger poets make a different call on our attention: it will take us a little while to see where they stand in relation to their established elders. Davis's anthology will help us immensely in those questionings. His notes are helpful, never intrusive. No one could have presented the poems more handsomely. A splendid, notably generous selection.
--Denis Donoghue (20110527)

A bountiful selection, displaying much of the range and vigour of poetry in two languages. The Anthology pits the mundane against the mythical, valuably emphasising the ways in which Irish artists explore the ordinary universe and everyday life.
--Declan Kiberd (20110601)

The book includes upwards of 50 poets--and there's not a dull page in it. Editor Wes Davis's selection is judicious, while his introduction and notes are as informative as they are brief.
--Richard Tillinghast (Wall Street Journal )

An incredible bargain, this beautifully produced book (the spacious creamy pages are a great comfort to screen-weary eyeballs), with compact introduction and judicious notes by the editor, has a gem on every page.
--Tom D'Evelyn (Providence Journal )

This is a book to be grateful for.
--Robert Gray (The Australian )

The wave of diverse younger talents that emerged during the recent boom times is [well-served] by Wes Davis in his voluminous Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry, a handsome production from Harvard...The poets get room to breathe here, in generous selections of up to twenty poems, and each is prefaced by a brief critical-biographical essay that manages to be both unfussy and well informed.
--Gerald Mangan (Times Literary Supplement )

This is a book that in every sense deserves a broad readership...An anthology ultimately stands or falls on the strength of the work that it collects. In this regard, especially, An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry is a notable success.
--Bill Coyle (New Criterion )

About the Author

Wes Davis is a former assistant professor of English at Yale University. He has written on British and American literature for publications ranging from the Southwest Review and Parnassus to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (March 17, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674049519
• ISBN-13: 978-0674049512
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Splendid Collection, But Missing Very Important Work..., March 21, 2010

By 

Flounder (Substitution Instance) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry (Hardcover)

This is a truly beautiful collection of modern and contemporary Irish, not 'British,' poetry. Harvard UP must be praised for publishing such a remarkable and important edition. It is remarkable because the book itself is aesthetically pleasing. It is important because it collects a variety of Irish poetry after William Butler Yeats. Anthologies tend to exclude more than we'd wish, but why not include Yeats? Although the editor mentions Yeats in the Introduction, none of his poems are included in the anthology. Yeats was a crucial Irish modernist. Although widely anthologized, Yeats's poetry still needs to be carefully studied for its impact on modern Irish culture. Thus, an anthology of this sort really needs to include a few of his poems. Granted, any editor would have a tough task at making selections; however, unhappily, several other important poets are not included here. For example, we need to see more representation of Irish poetry in the 1930's. Kavanagh, C. Day Lewis, MacNeice, and Beckett are included here, as they should be, but Thomas McGreevy, Denis Devlin, and Brian Coffey are overlooked. They were important intellectuals. Among other critics, Beckett thought so. If their work were more accessible, then the public would be allowed to discover its merits. Although many young poets are included here, several truly innovative poets are left out: Maurice Scully, Trevor Joyce, Billy Mills, Randolph Healy, Tom Raworth, and Catherine Walsh, to name a few. (If interested, check out the Poetry Ireland or Sound Eye websites for more information). And I scratch my head at several poets included here, which might ruffle the dandruff of some readers, but the poetry toward the end of the anthology isn't terribly strong (with few exceptions Dawe to Wheatley). Despite its oversights, this anthology casts a wide net and represents previously overlooked Irish language poets (in translation), female poets, and poets of the younger generation. As always, it's splendid to visit dear friends: Kinsella, Montague, Deane, Heaney, Mahon, Carson, Muldoon, and McGuckian, to name a few. But really, many of the selections are very safe and not terribly daring. However, I highly recommend this anthology to anyone interested in Irish studies or poetry. It's an important collection that attempts to demonstrate the Irish contribution to world poetry.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively and interesting, June 27, 2010

By 

Sea Dog - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry (Hardcover)

This anthology is a lively and interesting addition to Irish poetry collections. It offers an extensive look at a wide range of poets, including the well-known, such as Seamus Heaney, for example, and the lesser known, such as those who are emerging as Ireland's new voices. By presenting poetry from authors who have been established in the Irish canon, but whose work might have been overlooked recently, this book establishes a foundation that serves well to acquaint readers with a large variety of voices and styles of poetic expression. By introducing the work of newer poets, it shows that Irish letters continue to display vigor and creativity. The anthology demonstrates vividly that Irish poets, while they are concerned about matters specific to Ireland, either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, from a century ago or more recently, are also aware of and concerned about the world at large. The poets deal with the issues that affect humans around the world and throughout history, the epic as well as the everyday. This book would make a wonderful addition to any library, personal or public.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Far too much missing..., May 11, 2010

By 

Neil Doherty "Doherty" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry (Hardcover)

Someday somebody will produce a really representative anthology of all the poetry which has been written in Ireland in modern times. This , however, is not that anthology. While there is some excellent poetry collected here it is, with all anthologies, the work that has been excluded that raises eyebrows. I would love to know why such poets as Theo Dorgan, Michael Smith, Macdara Woods, Catriona O'Reilly, Paddy Bushe,the unique Cork poets Gerry Murphy, Patrick Galvin and Gregory O'Donoghue, the relgious verse of John F.Deane and Padraig J.Daly, the Irish language work of Colm Breathnach, Louis de Paor and Maire Mhac an tSaoi and the Irish-American seam mined by John Liddy amd Michael S.Begnal have been excluded. Coupled with the fact the none of the innovative poetry mentioned by the other reviewer has been deemed fit for inclusion, this anthology provides an imbalanced and quite conservative picture of Irish poetry. It seems to me that the editor, by his own admission, is not really aware of the true breadth and depth of what is happening in Ireland now and that he has not trawled through Irish poetry presses (Salmon, Dedalus, Wild Honey etc) other than Gallery. It is time for an editor with a deeper knowledge of the poetic culture of Ireland to prepare an anthology which would really do justice to its subject.